Here are three simple recipes that take little time to assemble or cook — and allow the flavour of the salmon to shine through.

Harriet's gingered salmon

Serves 2 to 4.

Harriet Sugar Miller, who blogs about health, food and related topics at Eat and Beat Cancer, is at work on a guidebook about foods to eat and to avoid; it features dietary strategies as well as simple recipes, including this one: this recipe calls for a clay cooker, a special heat-resistant unglazed covered clay pot that is soaked in cold water before any ingredients are put in it; it is then placed into a cold oven. The dish can be made in a covered casserole or a roasting dish topped lightly with foil; in that case, preheat the oven and shorten cooking time by 10 minutes or so.

2 salmon fillets, about 7 ounces each Pinch of cayenne (optional)

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 generous tablespoons grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped

Soak a clay pot for 30 minutes in cold water. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. First, pour the lemon juice into a small bowl. Grate the ginger, then squeeze out the juice into the bowl. In demonstrating, Sugar Miller did it by hand; I used a garlic press. Add the salt, pepper and garlic and stir. Place salmon in the clay pot. Sprinkle the cayenne, if using, and pour sauce onto salmon. Cover and place in a cold oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on how long your oven takes to heat. The fish will be a pale pink.

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Slow-roasted salmon with pea puree

Serves 4.

The slow-roasted, low-temperature cooking method for this dish, which appears in Cooking with Love (Maimonides Geriatric Centre Foundation, 2010), makes for soft, pale-coloured fish; the room-temperature pea puree is a beautifully coloured counterpoint.

For the salmon:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each, skin and bones removed

For the pea puree:

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt Pinch freshly ground pepper

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix olive oil and lemon zest and set aside to let flavours infuse as you prepare the pea puree. In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, puree the peas, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. With the machine still running, add the olive oil in a steady drizzle. Transfer the pea puree to a small bowl and stir in the Parmesan. Set aside.

Season salmon with salt and pepper and brush the fillets with the lemon-infused oil. Bake salmon, uncovered, on a foil-covered cookie sheet or shallow roasting pan, for 25 to 30 minutes in a 250-degree F oven. The fish will be pale in colour. To assemble the dish, place a large spoonful of pea puree in the centre of each plate and top with salmon filet. Garnish with lemon wedge and mint leaf and serve.

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Grilled cedar-planked salmon

Serves 4.

The cedar plank imparts a wonderful smoked flavour to the fish in this recipe, which appears in Panache (Jewish General Hospital Auxiliary, 2005). Find untreated cedar at a lumber store or kitchen store. Have a spray bottle filled with water near the grill, in case you need it. Best to use a gas grill for this recipe. I tried it a couple of times with a kettle-shaped charcoal grill and was unable to get the grill hot enough.

Preheat grill until very hot and place the soaked plank on it. Close the lid and heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until plank starts to crackle and smoke. Meanwhile, pepper the fish and spread it with mustard, then sugar. Carefully lift lid of grill (and be prepared for smoke), salt plank quickly and place the salmon on it. Close lid and grill salmon for 10 to 15 minutes.

Check periodically to make sure plank is not on fire: if it is, spray water to extinguish the flame. Remove plank, leaving the salmon in place on it, and allow it to cool for few minutes on a fireproof surface like an old metal tray. Serve salmon directly from plank or use a long flexible metal spatula to transfer it, carefully, to a serving platter.

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